Well, since everyone else is doing year-end lists, I might as well get in on the fun! I’ll start off by listing the best books I read this year and then get into the ones I hated. Bear in mind that these aren’t necessarily books that were published in 2009, so you might not find [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): Georgia Walker is the proud, independent 40-something woman who owns Walker & Daughter, a successful knitting supplies boutique in Manhattan. Georgia’s background is revealed slowly over the course of the novel, and the reader eventually learns about her failed relationship with James Foster over a decade ago. Georgia truly loved [...]
Summary: Sarah Palin is one of the most recognizable figures in American politics today. Plucked from relative obscurity on August 29, 2008 when Senator John McCain chose her as his running mate, there was an immediate media frenzy surrounding Palin. This frenzy lasted for the remaining two months of the election, and has continued [...]
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Dr. Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who splits her time between teaching at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and working as a coroner for the Montreal police department. She also has a penchant for getting embroiled in murder investigations, which is exactly what happens during her latest stint [...]
Here are the bestsellers in a handful of the more popular categories. What a surprise to see Dan Brown back at No.1! Click here for my review of The Lost Symbol.
Hardcover Fiction:
1. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown
2. U IS FOR UNDERTOW, by Sue Grafton
3. I, ALEX CROSS, by James Patterson
4. UNDER THE DOME, by [...]
Plot summary: The Executioner’s Song is sometimes described as a “quasi-documentary” about the life and execution of Gary Gilmore, a “spree killer” who gained notoriety as the first person put to death after capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. Norman Mailer cobbled the book together out of extensive interviews with Gilmore’s family and friends, [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): One Sunday morning as Lt. Lindsay Boxer is jogging through an upscale San Francisco neighborhood, a house literally explodes in front of her eyes. She calls for help, then rushes in to see if there’s anyone inside who needs rescuing. She emerges with a young boy, but he’s the only [...]
Here are some of the current New York Times Bestsellers in a few of the more popular categories.
Hardcover Fiction:
1. U IS FOR UNDERTOW, by Sue Grafton
2. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown
3. I, ALEX CROSS, by James Patterson
4. UNDER THE DOME, by Stephen King
5. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett
Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. GOING ROGUE, by Sarah Palin
2. [...]
Summary: American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House is the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the seventh president of the United States penned by Jon Meacham. Because of the Pulitzer and some good reviews I’ve read, I decided to read this book. I went into it without any special interest in Jackson or any [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): Thirty-something Paul Copeland is an Essex County prosecutor with a history of heartache. He recently lost his wife to cancer, and 20 years before that, his sister disappeared along with three others from the summer camp where they worked together and was presumed to be the victim of serial killer [...]